


okay but i raise you: Zombie Boy Girl isn't all that bad

by orphan_account



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Did You See Her Rainbow Clip, Gay Will Byers, Gen, Kinda a rewrite, M/M, Middle School, Mileven, Possibly Unrequited Love, Season 2, first off, hawkins middle school, i dont want to tag mileven but, please just give this a chance i promise its iconic, she does a gay panic over nancy, she spotted a fellow gay from miles away, snowball - Freeform, the gaydar is real actually, wasnt subtle sorry duffers, what more could you ask for, wlw mlm solidarity, you cant tell me the girl that danced with will wasnt a lesbian
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:08:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22012336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Suddenly, her eyes locked with Will's, and she saw an expression on his face that she knew all too well.Dread.The fear of being caught with a secret that shouldn't even have to be a secret. He quickly looked away, obviously trying to look natural but failing miserably.It was a scary thing when you didn't fit the mold—she knew that firsthand. So, with the beginning ofTime After Timeechoing off the walls, she walked right up to him."Hey, Zombie Boy," she said. "do you want to dance?"
Relationships: Will Byers & Zombie Boy Girl, Will Byers/Mike Wheeler
Comments: 10
Kudos: 36





	okay but i raise you: Zombie Boy Girl isn't all that bad

**Author's Note:**

> ok so i originally wrote this as a one shot but if it does well i might add another couple of chapters !!!

Reagan Lauper stood among her classmates in the crowded gymnasium, a sigh leaving her lips. She already regretted coming to this stupid dance, and she hadn't even been there for more than twenty minutes. 

Sure, winter-themed school dances sounded fine on paper—but when you add in the fact that everyone in the room was awkward and stiff and she had no interest dancing with any of the boys in her class, it really put things in perspective. She would much rather dance with Kathy. Or any girl for that matter. Come to think of it, she would dance with a plant if it meant she didn't have to slow-dance with the sweaty, gross boys that she towered over. 

Despite struggling to move in the ugly-ass outfit that her mom forced her to wear, she walked over to the punch table, trying her best to keep her eyes to herself.

Nearly all of the girls in her grade were dressed up, each of them wearing unique but semi-formal outfits. She saw some girls in makeup, some without it—in both cases, she would be lying if she said she didn't feel her gaze linger far longer than necessary.

When she finally reached the table, her eyes nearly widened at the sight of the beautiful girl serving punch. A ladle hung between the girl's fingers as she served another kid their drink. Suddenly, it was her turn in line. _Shit, shit, shit. Act natural._

"Hi, can I please have a cup?" she asked, brushing a rogue piece of hair out of her face.

Now that she was able to get a better look, she could see that the girl looked quite a few years older than her. Reagan assumed she was part of the group of Juniors that volunteered to chaperone the dance for extra credit. Her dark curls were pulled into a messy bun, a few strands hanging loosely around her face. Not to be dramatic, but she was _stunning._

"Yeah, of course," the teen smiled, causing her heart to beat a little faster. Reagan tried her best to not ogle at how beautiful her jawline was as the girl filled her cup with the dark-colored beverage. "Here you go."

"T-Thank you," she stuttered when the girl's hand brushed against hers when she went to hand her the cup. She walked away from the table, swearing under her breath. _Get ahold of yourself, Lauper._

Once she found a nice, empty spot to sit at, she tried to rid herself of the blush that stained her face. Reagan looked around the congested room, watching as _'couples'_ danced along to the music, most of them looking painfully awkward. She snickered.

If you could calculate the amount of hairspray in use in that gym, it would've probably been staggering—speaking of which, she noticed Dustin Henderson walk through the doors with quite the hairstyle.

He was part of a very elite friend group in her class. The outcasts, some called them, but she always felt a little bit jealous of how close they all were. She never really had the luxury. He walked to his table of friends, looking utterly ridiculous and adorable. 

Dustin reminded her of a little puppy or something. Precious, someone that should be protected.

She watched as his expression dropped at his friends' reactions to what she assumed was his hair. Her eyes drifted to the other people in his collection, eventually landing on Will Byers. 

Zombie Boy.

Reagan always liked him. He was nice, didn't smell like a dingy locker-room, calm—basically everything you'd want in a classmate. They were science partners back in the 6th grade, but they didn't talk much afterward. Not that it bothered her, really. They would say hi to each other whenever they got the chance, and he was still polite as ever. 

She believed that they always had a connection. _Nothing_ romantic, of course—it was more of an unspoken knowledge that neither of them quite fit the mold of heteronormativity, and they were both learning that that was okay.

Speaking of which, Reagan noticed him glance over at Mike Wheeler at least six times in the brief minute she had taken to look over the group. She wasn't sure if his crush on the taller boy was actually obvious or if she was just really gay and understood the expression of hopeless pining.

Another glance at him told her it was a mixture of both.

She stood from her chair, throwing her now empty cup into the nearest garbage can. She was really rooting for Will—maybe he would have the balls to ask Mike to dance with him tonight. 

Regardless of her better judgment, her gaze strayed to where Kathy, her crush, was dancing with- oh, god. _Matt Lenning?_ Jesus, if she wasn't going to dance with her, the least she could do was find someone better. 

She pushed down the looming fit of jealousy that grew in the pit of her stomach, deciding that she was just going to ignore them. _It was fine. Whatever._ She didn't need Kathy or her strawberry-scented hair anyway. 

Her feet shuffled against the hard floor, traveling quite aimlessly around the gym. She admired the cute little decorations for a while but eventually found herself moving toward Will and his friends.

A slow song came on, and she noticed Lucas Sinclair and the new girl—the pretty one with red hair and that cool-ass _skateboard_ —wander over to the dance floor.

Suddenly, her eyes locked with Will's, and she saw an expression on his face that she knew all too well. _Dread._ The fear of being caught with a secret that shouldn't even have to be a secret. He quickly looked away, obviously trying to look natural but failing miserably.

It was a scary thing when you didn't fit the mold—she knew that firsthand. So, with the beginning of _Time After Time_ echoing off the walls, she walked right up to him. 

"Hey, Zombie Boy," she said.

Will only blinked at her, surprise clear on his face. He seemed to be having trouble putting a sentence together, so she continued. 

"Do you wanna dance?"

"Um, I don't-" he glanced over at Mike again, who nudged his shoulder lightly. Will looked somewhat disappointed at his reaction, his face dropping as he turned back to her. "I mean... I mean, yeah, sure."

"Cool," she smiled as they walked over to the dance floor. They awkwardly got into position—Will putting his hands around her waist while she rested her wrists on his shoulders. They stayed a safe distance away from each other.

"Reagan, you- you don't have to dance with me if you don't want to," he said after a minute of uncomfortable swaying to the music.

She rolled her eyes, a smile growing on her lips. "Don't be stupid. Just accept my help and enjoy the dance."

"Help?" Will asked, clearly playing dumb. "Help for what? I don't- I didn't need help for anything."

Reagan didn't answer him directly. Instead, she looked over at the taller boy that was now sitting alone at their table. "Mike looks nice tonight, don't you think?"

Will froze in his tracks, every single movement halting for a moment as his face turned red. She noticed this and offered him an encouraging smile in an attempt to calm his nerves. 

He finally shrugged, his shoulders tensing underneath her wrists. "Yeah, I- I guess so."

"I didn't mean to steal your chance of asking him to dance or anything," Her voice softened, dropping a little lower so they wouldn't be overheard.

His eyes widened, the hold on her waist tightening, unintentionally—only further confirming Reagan's suspicions. He took in a shaky breath. "What do you mean?"

"Hey, it's okay," she said, voice still hushed. "I'm not a snitch. I won't say anything to anyone."

He blinked a few times, clearly shaken by her discovery. "How... how did you know?"

A valid question.

"You're not the only one with a forbidden crush on their friend," Reagan sighed, her eyes drifting off into the distance again.

Will seemed to short-circuit at her comment, following her gaze to a girl that sat at a table, talking to a small group of people. Her name was Kathy Thompson if Will remembered correctly—she sat next to him in History class.

"I always thought... I mean, I just never wanted to assume anything," he mumbled, still processing the information that was just thrown at him. "Why are you dancing with me, then?"

"You just looked so uncomfortable," she said, turning her attention back to Will. "I couldn't leave you hanging on your own with a clear conscience."

He was silent for a moment. They swayed to the beat, looking like every other heterosexual couple in the gym—except they both knew they weren't. It was like their little secret.

"Thank you, Reagan," Will finally said, his tone entirely sincere. She nodded.

"People like us, we gotta stick together," she replied, following Will's gaze as he looked over at Mike. He was now dancing with a girl she'd never seen around the school before—the two seeming far too close to be considered friends. She sighed. "Maybe you'll get that dance at prom instead."

He tried to laugh, but it came out as more a bitter scoff. "Maybe."

"Hey, why don't we go outside for a bit?" Reagan suggested after a beat, trying to lighten the mood. "My feet are getting totally torn up by these shoes anyway."

Will looked relieved at the proposal, nodding silently as they wormed their way through the crowd. He ignored the sly looks that Lucas and Max sent him when they passed by them, a blush covering his face at the attention.

Once they made it outside after making up some random excuse to get past the supervisor, they sat on the street curb, listening to the muffled music that came from the building in comfortable silence.

"I've liked him since the third grade," Will eventually said, his voice barely above a whisper. Reagan looked over at him. "Mike, I mean. I've liked him since the third grade."

She nodded, looking at the ground. "I've liked Kathy since the fifth." 

A beat of silence.

"It kind of sucks, doesn't it?" she said. "Watching them in there, dancing with other people."

He fiddled with his little blue tie. "Yeah, it does."

"I'm sure it'll get easier," she looked over at Will. "Once we graduate and get out of this town, there will be so many more opportunities. My cousin is from Chicago, and he knows a lot of people like us."

A small flicker of hope crossed Will's face. "Really?"

She nodded. "Really."

"Can you imagine what that'd be like?" He asked, voice hushed as he looked up at the stars. "Living in a place where we would be normal?"

"It would be a dream."

Another bout of silence loomed as each of them pictured what life could be. 

"When did you find out?" he asked suddenly. "That you liked girls, I mean."

Reagan shrugged. "I've only known for a few years, but only because I didn't realize what it was at first. I thought it was just a normal thing to imagine yourself kissing girls or something, and that I would eventually like boys like the rest of the class," she paused to laugh. "Yeah, that was a solid no."

Will listened intently with a soft smile on his face.

"What's your story?" she asked, shifting in her sitting position on the pavement to look at him.

"Well, like I said, I've liked Mike since before I really... really knew what it meant," he started, nervously. It was clear that this was his first time talking about any of this. "I didn't accept it for a long time, and I- I guess I'm still coming to terms with it," he took a deep breath, a blush staining his face as he messed with the seams of his dress-shirt. "We've always been best friends, and I don't want to ruin it. He's the best thing in my life. I can't afford to lose him."

And that soft confession was what really messed her up. Reagan felt her heart sink at his words because she _knew._ She knew what it was like to have to hide something like this—to watch a crush look completely oblivious at how you felt. 

She reached out, covering his hand with hers. "I know it might not feel like it now, but things will get better, Byers."

He nodded, looking up at the sky again. "It's just hard acting normal. I- I think Troy and James might know that I like Mike."

"Oh _god_ ," she mumbled. Troy was, for lack of a better term, an entire douchebag. If he found out, Will would probably never escape his bullying. 

Suddenly, an idea came to her mind. 

"Hey," she started, her brows drawn together in thought. "if you wanted a fake girlfriend to throw them off, I would be happy to help."

Will blinked. "Really?"

She nodded. "It might help me too. You know, keep people from getting suspicious about me not wanting to even look at the boys in our class."

"Okay, but how would that work?" he asked, laughing quietly at her comment. "We wouldn't have to- you know, _do_ anything, right?"

Both of them grimaced at the thought. "Oh, god no. Nothing like that," she heard Will sigh in relief. "I was just thinking that we hold hands whenever we pass them in the hall. Maybe we walk to class together more."

He took a moment to think about it. "Yeah, I think that sounds like a good idea."

"So we start tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Will smiled. "tomorrow."

**Author's Note:**

> yeehaw let me know what you thought


End file.
